PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jason Fulford
and
J&L Books

December 14, 2006 - January 27, 2007
Opening Reception with the artists: Thursday, December 14, 6 to 9 pm
Castleberry Art Stroll every Friday after Thursday openings, 7 to 10 pm

Jason Fulford, born in Atlanta, GA, (1973) has a BA from Pratt Institute in NY and now lives and works in Scranton, PA, and Brooklyn, NY. A regular contributor to Harper’s and The New York Times, his work has appeared in Newsweek, Fortune, The Nation, Life and many others. His photographs grace the book jackets for virtually every major American book imprint including releases for Don Delillo, John Updike, Bertrand Russell, Terry Eagleton, Ha Jin and many more, as well as the upcoming re-release of the complete Hemingway. Fittingly, Fulford’s photographs have often been described in literary terms: in addition to referencing visual artists such as Gerhard Richter and Lee Friedlander, admirers of Fulford’s work frequently point to authors like Raymond Carver to explain the mute humor and inexplicable sadness of his imagery. Although Fulford’s square images of washed-out skies, hotel rooms, sidewalkers, storefronts and animals come from locations as remote as Budapest, India or China (or as near as Kentucky or Kennesaw, GA), a distinctly American sensibility prevails. And while often ironic, and occasionally mistaken for cynicism, this sensibility is decidedly heartfelt, and suffused with the pathos contained in all great comedy.

Jason Fulford has exhibited in New York, Seattle, Copenhagen, Budapest, Atlanta and Kansas City. His work is in the Martin Margulies Collection among others. This will be Fulford’s first exhibition at Marcia Wood Gallery. Copies of Fulford’s third and latest book of photography, Raising Frogs for $ $ $, published by The Ice Plant, will be available for signing at the opening.

J&L Books, founded in 2001 by Jason Fulford and Leanne Shapton, has published work by numerous artists and authors including David Shrigley, Marcel Dzama, Gus Powell, Adam Gilders, Micheal Northrup and Micheal Schmelling. The non-profit company has won critical and popular acclaim for its series of accessible and original art and photography books. J&L is dedicated to providing an outlet for quality work which might not otherwise be seen. The output of this small publisher succeeds in displaying both a strong statement of aesthetic from the two founders, and a voracious and inspiring enthusiasm for a wide range of subject matter and visions.

For this exhibition, co-curators Fulford and Shapton assemble an exhibition of work by over 30 artists and photographers, all of whom have published with J&L in the first five years of this idiosyncratic press. Installed within the exhibition is a reading area wherein Fulford presents a library of collected J&L books (many of them long out-of-print) for visitors to interact with and absorb. Fulford and Shapton also collaborate on a number of large-scale sculptural elements, including a “library” installation based on other, non-J&L Books publications, that J&L-published artists have named as important or fundamental to their own work.

Artists featured in the exhibition include Able Brown, Amy O'Neill, Ashley Thayer Barry Stone, Brian Rea, Christian Patterson, Darin Mickey, Ed Panar, Eileen Maxson, Gary Peter, Gus Powell, Gwen Smith, Harrell Fletcher, Harrison Haynes, James Gallagher, Jason Logan, Leif Parsons, Matthew Sandager, Michael Harwell, Michael Lewy, Michael Northrup, Michael Northrup, Michael Schmelling, Mike Slack, Paul Clark (Blixie), Ryan Storm, Serge Onnen, Shawn Creeden, Ted Fair, Tucker Nichols and Zach Storm.